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  • Medical Devices

    • FDA’s Recent Update to the Digital Health Policy NavigatorDecember 21st, 2022

      In our previous blog post, we provided a flowchart for the Digital Health Policy Navigator’s process so that our blog readers can quickly review the seven steps in determining whether their product’s software functions may be potentially the focus of FDA oversight. Two days after …

    • FDA Publishes Draft Guidance on Voluntary Malfunction Summary Reporting Program for Medical DevicesDecember 18th, 2022

      On December 9, 2022, FDA issued a draft guidance document on the Voluntary Malfunction Summary Reporting (VMSR) Program for medical devices. Generally, FDA’s MDR regulations require device manufacturers to submit Medical Device Reports (MDRs) for individual reportable malfunctions within 30 calendar days of the manufacturer becoming …

    • Remote Patient Testing Faces a Cloudy Future under VALIDDecember 14th, 2022

      It is widely expected that the fate of the VALID Act – and therefore the world of diagnostic regulation – will be determined in the next two weeks (see our previous post here).  While the potential mitigating impact of the “grandfathering” clause on laboratories currently …

    • Draft LASIK Guidance: Why Did FDA Issue New Labeling Recommendations for Products that Already Have PMA Approved Labeling?December 13th, 2022

      Last summer, FDA published a draft guidance, Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) Lasers – Patient Labeling Recommendations (July 29, 2022) setting forth a proposal for new recommended patient‑directed labeling.  It is focused on excimer lasers with premarket application (PMA) approval for LASIK  in product code …

    • Is my Software a Medical Device? Use the Digital Health Policy NavigatorDecember 12th, 2022

      With the explosion of health‑related software, many software developers are generating products with functionality that is subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  If you are a manufacturer of implants that go into the human body for the treatment of disease, it’s …

    • CDRH’s Plan to De-risk the Medical Device Valley of DeathNovember 21st, 2022

      As was introduced in our recent blog post summarizing the 2022 MedTech conference (here), FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) recently announced the launch of a new pilot program, the Voluntary Total Product Life Cycle (TPLC) Advisory Program (TAP) Pilot (see announcement attributed …

    • Discounts Available! Submit a Small Business Certification Request Today for a Reduced Medical Device User FeeNovember 15th, 2022

      In our last blog post, we advised medical device companies to consider applying to FDA’s Small Business Program to help with the noticeably higher user fees for FY2023. In this blog post, we provide a primer on user fees and the Small Business Program. User Fees User …

    • FUFRA Enacted; HP&M Issues Detailed Summary and AnalysisNovember 9th, 2022

      On September 30, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, Division F of which is titled the “FDA User Fee Reauthorization Act of 2022” (“FUFRA”).   In addition to reauthorizing for an additional five fiscal years—Fiscal Years 2023-2027—several …

    • MedTech Conference DownloadNovember 9th, 2022

      At the latest MedTech conference held in Boston, MA from October 24-26, we heard from FDA officials and industry representatives on a range of topics. Below, we provide a snapshot of the three-day event: Update on the International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF) The IMDRF conference was …

    • FDA’s Pre-Cert Pilot Ends. Will there be a Sequel?November 1st, 2022

      FDA began the Software Precertification (Pre-Cert) pilot program in 2017 to evaluate an alternative approach to regulation of software as a medical device (SaMD) over the total product lifecycle (TPLC).  We have followed it over the last five years, with blog posts here, here, here, …

    • FDA Proposes Select Updates to the Breakthrough Devices Program Designed to Reduce Health Care DisparitiesOctober 31st, 2022

      On October 21, 2022, FDA published a draft guidance document titled Select Updates for the Breakthrough Devices Program Guidance: Reducing Disparities in Health and Health Care.  This draft guidance proposes updates to FDA’s Breakthrough Devices Program, which is outlined in a separate December 2018 guidance …

    • Like Everything Else, Medical Device User Fees Are Not Immune to Price IncreasesOctober 21st, 2022

      If you have purchased anything in recent months or kept up with economic reports, you are familiar with the unwelcome observation: “Prices have gone up!” That could not be more true than in the area of medical device user fees. Medical Device User Fees After the Congressional …

    • Transition Plans for Covid-19 Products are Amongst CDRH FY2023 PrioritiesOctober 19th, 2022

      Last week, our blog post advised planning a transition strategy in advance of the news of the termination of the Covid-19 public health emergency. On October 17, 2022, FDA published the list of CDRH proposed guidances for FY 2023 (see here). Amongst CDRH’s highest prioritized …

    • Planning for the End of the COVID-19 Public Health EmergencyOctober 14th, 2022

      “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one is wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing.” President Biden made …

    • The Incredible Shrinking Exemption: FDA Final CDS Guidance Would Significantly Narrow the Scope of Exempt Clinical Decision Support Software Under the Cures ActOctober 10th, 2022

      On September 28, 2022, the FDA issued the long anticipated final Clinical Decision Support Software Guidance (CDS Guidance), which replaces the revised draft guidance document from 2019.  The CDS Guidance interprets the “medical software” carve-out of the 21st Century Cures Act (2016) as it pertains …